New Delhi: After a long drawn standoff, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doyen, LK Advani, and party’s PM-candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, met at Ram Jethmalani’s residence in Delhi on Sunday evening.

The two leaders of the BJP met in the public for the first time since Advani’s opposition of Modi being anointed as the party’s PM candidate and the subsequent announcement that came on Friday.

Modi bent down before Advani in a sign of respect and then took his seat close by with Jethmalani in the middle.

Advani and Modi exchanged pleasantries but hardly talked to each other.

After the formal announcement, Modi had visited Advani at his residence with party leaders claiming that there was no bad blood between the two.
Senior BJP leader and party workers had converged at veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani’s residence for his birthday celebrations and that is where the two were seen exchanging pleasantries.

Advani had openly disapproved of Modi’s ascent as the PM candidate of BJP. When the Gujarat CM was appointed the BJP`s poll panel chief in the Goa conclave in June this year, the senior leader had resigned from all party posts, only to take it back a day later.

Advani’s absence was conspicuous from the BJP parliamentary board meet when Modi was anointed as the party’s PM candidate.

Advani also shot off a letter to Rajnath Singh expressing his `disappointment` at the style of functioning of the party president.

It is speculated that Advani was opposed to Modi`s name being announced before the Assembly elections in four states this year claiming that such a move would give the Congress an upper hand as the Gujarat CM is widely considered a polarising figure.